The ex-con who pushed a cop to his death made no apologies at his sentencing before getting 28½ years to life in prison. “The fact of the matter is I didnt push your son, all right?…I’m not a killer.” Click below to read the rest.
Villanueva was convicted of pushing Schaberger off a Brooklyn brownstone in March 2011, sending the cop plunging 9 feet and breaking his neck. Schaberger had been responding to a call about a row between Villanueva and his girlfriend, whom he had a history of abusing.
“During the trial, this guilty individual has also been shown to be a brutal thug whose vicious nature makes him totally unfit to be part of this society,” the dead cop’s father, Paul Schaberger, said before the sentencing.
He asked the judge “for justice, a full measure of justice.”
Supreme Court Justice Neil Firetog responded by handing down the maximum sentence for the first-degree manslaughter and contempt convictions. The judge added a life term because he deeemed Villanueva a presistent felon for his six prior burglary convictions.
“In retrospect, he was treated very leniently for these felonies,” prosecutor Mark Hale told the judge, noting the defendant spent half his adult life behind bars.
“He hasn’t used any of the opportunities given to him,” Hale added. “He has no skills, no job, no vocation.”
Defense attorney Kleon Andreadis noted the jury cleared his client of murder and Villanueva, 43, echoed the sentiment when he spoke before being sentenced.
